Hicks earns Administrative Professional of the Year award

Monique Hicks was named the Administrative Professional of the Year by the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. She is congratulated here by Kinston City Manager Tony Sears, as he, along with dozens of coworkers, friends and city officials, surprised her with the announcement in the council chambers.

Janet S. Carter / The Free Press

By Bryan C. Hanks / Managing Editor

Published: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 08:01 PM.

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A little after 9 a.m., Tuesday, there were more than three dozen people hiding in the darkened Kinston City Council chambers waiting to surprise Monique Hicks.

They succeeded.

As City Manager Tony Sears opened the doors to the dark chambers, the group shouted, “Surprise!” and the tears started to flow — from Hicks and from her plethora of gathered friends, many of whom she’s worked alongside during her 18-year tenure at City Hall.

After the initial shock wore off, Hicks was handed a vase of flowers, a bunch of balloons and a shiny new award proclaiming her as the Administrative Professional of the Year by the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce.

As the administrative assistant to Sears, she handles customer service issues and complaints, according to Sears, who nominated her for the honor.

“This makes me very, very emotional,” Hicks said quietly after the ceremony, with tears still streaming down her cheeks. “I do a job where I serve my city and I serve my coworkers. It’s not about me and this was a great surprise. I don’t know how I’m going to get through the rest of my day.”

Sears — who lured Hicks into the chambers by telling her that he had left some important material in there — has only been on the job for 18 months; he said his transition into his new position was smooth, thanks to Hicks.

A little after 9 a.m., Tuesday, there were more than three dozen people hiding in the darkened Kinston City Council chambers waiting to surprise Monique Hicks.

They succeeded.

As City Manager Tony Sears opened the doors to the dark chambers, the group shouted, “Surprise!” and the tears started to flow — from Hicks and from her plethora of gathered friends, many of whom she’s worked alongside during her 18-year tenure at City Hall.

After the initial shock wore off, Hicks was handed a vase of flowers, a bunch of balloons and a shiny new award proclaiming her as the Administrative Professional of the Year by the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce.

As the administrative assistant to Sears, she handles customer service issues and complaints, according to Sears, who nominated her for the honor.

“This makes me very, very emotional,” Hicks said quietly after the ceremony, with tears still streaming down her cheeks. “I do a job where I serve my city and I serve my coworkers. It’s not about me and this was a great surprise. I don’t know how I’m going to get through the rest of my day.”

Sears — who lured Hicks into the chambers by telling her that he had left some important material in there — has only been on the job for 18 months; he said his transition into his new position was smooth, thanks to Hicks.

In his remarks to the assembled group, Sears declared that Hicks is the “Face of Kinston.”

“There are people who come to our offices who don’t want to speak to the mayor, they don’t want to speak to the city manager — they want to speak to Monique,” Sears said. “She is very knowledgeable, very efficient and very friendly. Everybody loves her. When you have a point of contact like that, she is who people want to see when they come to see the City of Kinston.”

To a person, everyone agreed with Sears’ assessment.

“She’s the consummate professional,” Kinston Department of Public Safety Director Bill Johnson said. “She always has a positive attitude and a smile. When customers come in, her smile, her professionalism and her sense of caring she has makes all the difference in the world for us.”

Kinston Public Services Director Rhonda Barwick said, “She’s the definition of an administrative manager. She handles everything and we’re so very proud of her.”

Chamber President Laura Lee Sylvester said many good nominations came into her office.

“And they were all very worthy,” Sylvester said, “but I have to say, because of the number of nominations, the selection committee had a very difficult time. Having said that, I must say when they reviewed Monique’s application … I think it was a very easy choice for them to make.”

Sears said the Chamber could not have picked a better winner for the award than Hicks.

“Monique means everything to Kinston; she’s the point of contact and has such a great personality,” Sears said. “She handles problems so well and is customer service-driven. I can’t think of a better person who’s done a better job than her the past 18 years.”

Bryan C. Hanks can be reached at 252-559-1074 or at Bryan.Hanks@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at BCHanks.

Administrative Professionals of the Year since 2008, as awarded by the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce: